Rare Oriental darter lands on a roof in Ho Chi Minh City, refuses to fly even as residents climb up to catch it
When Mr. Long prodded it with a stick, the bird merely spread its wings and did not fly away. Mr. Long and his relatives then brought a ladder and climbed onto the roof to catch it.
On the afternoon of August 15, Võ Thành Long (39, of Ward 17 in the former Gò Vấp district, Ho Chi Minh City) spotted a long-necked bird of unknown origin standing on his family's roof. When Mr. Long prodded it with a stick, the bird merely spread its wings and did not fly away. Mr. Long and his relatives then brought a ladder and climbed onto the roof to catch it.
The Oriental darter that Võ Thành Long voluntarily handed over to the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Sub-department (Photo: NGỌC KHẢI)
"When we brought it down from the roof, I saw that its feet looked like duck feet. After looking it up online, I learned it was an Oriental darter, a rare animal listed in the Red Book. I wanted to hand the bird over to the authorities so it could return to the wild," Mr. Long said.
On the afternoon of August 16, the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Sub-department received the darter that Mr. Long had voluntarily handed over and took it to the wildlife rescue station in Củ Chi, on the outskirts of the city, where it will be cared for and given health checks before being released back into the wild.
Forest rangers identified the bird as an Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) weighing an estimated 0.4 kg. The species is listed in Group IB of Vietnam's list of endangered, precious and rare forest animals. Hunting, trading or consuming protected species is illegal in Vietnam; anyone who finds such an animal should hand it over to the forest protection authorities.
The roof where Mr. Long found the Oriental darter (Photo: NGỌC KHẢI)
The Oriental darter that Võ Thành Long voluntarily handed over to the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Sub-department (Photo: NGỌC KHẢI)
Chickens were domesticated thanks to the rice fields of Southeast Asia, new research suggests
Chickens may have been domesticated far later than thought, only after people began farming rice near forests where wild junglefowl lived.
This fish starves itself and raises other males' young, just to win over females
Male mouth almighty fish brood young in their mouths without eating, and a new study shows some carry offspring that aren't even their own.
Bats imitate hornets to avoid being eaten by owls
When caught by an owl, the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) mimics the buzzing of hornets to fool the predator.
Giant coconut crab attacks golfer on Christmas Island
A golfer was stunned when one of the world's largest crabs attacked and snapped his sturdy club 'like a chainsaw.'
The little-known tiny worm snake of Vietnam
The worm snake looks much like an earthworm, but it is a true snake with all the anatomical features of one.
New mole species discovered in Vietnam's Central Highlands
A new mole, Euroscaptor ngoclinhensis, has been identified on Mount Ngọc Linh and in the Central Annamite range of Vietnam.
